Many industries such as aquaria, aquaculture, wastewater, and pool/spa rely on “clean” water for their proper operation. In the current application, “clean” is meant to mean water that is low in nutrients, specifically: Inorganic Nitrate, Inorganic Phosphate, Nitrite, Ammonia, Ammonium, and metals such as Copper. These nutrients cause problems in water such as excessive algae and bacteria growth, and in some cases, poisoning of livestock. Livestock in aquaria (freshwater, brackish or saltwater) are especially sensitive to high nutrients, and thus the nutrients must continuously be removed. Saltwater reef aquaria, in particular, are extremely sensitive to contaminants such as copper; the slightest trace of copper will kill most corals in such aquariums.
For water filtering, the challenge has been how to grow algae easily so the algae can be removed (harvested), which removes the nutrients from the water. If the algae are not removed, they will simply die and put nutrients back into the water. The history of attempting to grow algae falls into two main algae categories: Uni-cellular and Multi-cellular growth. Uni-cellular algae are microscopic organisms which drift freely in the water (like plankton), and they give the water a tint which is usually green; thus they are usually called “micro” algae or “phyto” plankton. Multi-cellular algae are seaweeds; they usually attach themselves to a surface. And since multi-cellular seaweeds are much larger than microalgae, they are usually called “macro” algae.
A practical use for algal growth is for consumer use; “seaweed” and “sea vegetable” are the preferred names when consumers use algae (seaweed is also the only vegetable from the ocean). Skin care wraps and baths, natural medicines, gardening fertilizers, beer/wine fermentations, and foods such as nor dulse, and seaweed salads are all uses in which consumers require seaweed, preferable freshly grown. These home uses of seaweed (macroalgae) have grown greatly in recent years, however there has never been a feasible way for consumers to grow their own seaweed because of the need for large amounts of water flow and gas bubble flow, in a compact unit for household use.
When these multi-cellular macroalgae seaweeds are grown as a product, or grown for filtering, they attach themselves to solid surfaces and tend to clump together and route water and gas bubbles away from the clumps. However these clumps are the areas which are most in need of the nutrients provided by water and gas bubble flow. Therefore there is a need for a water and gas bubble delivery system which provides sufficient water and gas bubble flow throughout the macroalgal growth area.